This article was co-authored by Michele Dolan. Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.

There are 16 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

If you're a relatively fit person looking to take your fitness regimen to the next level, you might want to do plyometrics workouts. Plyometric exercises increase your strength and power through jumps and explosive movements. Plyometrics workouts were originally designed for professional athletes looking to increase their fast-twitch muscle to give them more explosive power. The workouts are most popular in sports such as American football and basketball, where players must have explosive power and strong vertical jump height. However, plyometrics have evolved to include moderate-impact exercises that you can do at home or at your local gym. Proper training and good form is essential to minimize your risk of injury.[1]

Steps

Part 1

Choosing Your Movements

1

Start by jumping rope. Jumping rope is a basic plyometric exercise that nearly anyone can do, regardless of your athletic background. For this reason, it's a good place to start if you want to incorporate plyometrics into your workout routine.[2]

You can buy an adult workout-quality jump rope at any sporting goods store. Don't use a child's or recreation jump rope, as they will easily break with repeated intense use.

Instead of jumping rope, you can fake jumping rope or run in place.

If you're building circuits, you should jump rope for about 45 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds before moving on to the next exercise.

2

Include basics such as skipping and bunny hops. Especially if you're a beginner with limited athletic background, these simple exercises are a way to work plyometrics into your regular exercise regimen.[3]

Keep in mind you want to do these movements quickly and with high intensity.

Skipping and bunny hops can be a good interval to add to your circuit between exercises that target your upper body, to give those muscles time to rest.

The moderate intensity also makes these good exercises to do for a warm-up or cool-down.

3

Try squat jumps. Squat jumps are powerful exercises that works your core and lower body, particularly your quads and glutes. Form is extremely important to avoid excessive pressure on your knees, so don't include squat jumps unless you can do multiple squats repeatedly with perfect form.[4]

To do squat jumps, you'll need a low step, box, or bench to jump on. It should be lower than your knees. Stand in front of the bench or step with your feet about hip-width apart.

Bend your knees to go into a full squat, being careful to maintain correct form with a neutral back. Don't let your knees move forward over your toes – your shins should be a relatively straight line perpendicular to the floor.

Pushing from the balls of your feet, jump onto the step or bench, landing in squat position. Then step back down and repeat the movement. Do these as quickly as you can with good form for about 45 seconds, or perform a fixed number of repetitions, such as ten jumps.

You can make squat jumps more challenging by starting on a very low step or curb and gradually moving up to a higher bench or box

4

Add burpees or clapping push-ups. These are classic plyometric exercises that often are incorporated into regular exercise routines, especially high-intensity interval training. Burpees and clapping push-ups primarily target your core and upper body, but ultimately are whole-body exercises that can be integrated anywhere in your plyometric routine.[5]

To do a burpee, stand with your feet about hip-width apart, arms by your side. Lower into a squat and put your hands on the floor in front of you. Then jump your legs backwards so you're in a push-up or plank position. Push your chest back up and thrust your feet forward back into a squat position, then jump up, extending your hands over your head.

A clapping push-up is just like a regular push-up, except that when you raise up, push yourself up and lift your hands to clap in front of your chest. Then, put your hands back on the floor where they were, maintaining good position as your body lowers.

Do as many of these as you can do in 45 seconds with good form. Keep in mind that cheating on your form on these exercises can increase your risk of injury. You also should be careful of the impact on your wrists. Choose different exercises if you have an acute or chronic wrist injury such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

If you decide to include both of these exercises in your full routine, include an interval of a lower body exercise such as squat jumps in between so you don't overly fatigue your upper body.

5

Do tuck jumps. Tuck jumps are a powerful plyometric exercise that primarily works your hip flexors, although the rest of your lower body gets a good workout as well. While tuck jumps are a relatively easy exercise, only include them in your plyometrics workout if you can do them consistently with good form.[6]

Lower to about a quarter-squat then jump, raising your knees. Jump as high as you can, and try to hit your palms with your knees.

Extend your legs as your body lowers, keeping your knees slightly bent to help absorb the shock. Do as many of these as you can do with good form in 45 seconds, or perform a set number of repetitions. Start with 5 or 8 and try to work up the number of repetitions, until you can repeat the exercise for up to a minute.

6

Work your way up to box jumps and broad jumps. Even if you are relatively athletic, box jumps and broad jumps are advanced plyometric exercises. Get your body used to plyometrics workouts, then add these movements into your routine to challenge yourself.[7]

Box jumps are one of the most effective plyometric exercises to increase your vertical jump. To start, you'll need a box to jump on – the higher the box, the more challenging the exercise.

Get into a squat position with the box about 6 inches in front of you. From the squat, jump up to the box, landing softly on the balls of your feet. Use your entire body, including your arms, to make your jump as powerful as possible. Step off the box, get back into the squat position, and repeat the exercise as many times as you can in 45 seconds.

You can also do lateral box jumps, in which you place the box to your side rather than in front of you.

With broad jumps, use the squat position to propel yourself, thrusting forward to land on the balls of your feet. Focus on jumping as far as possible with consistently good form. Immediately transition into the next repetition, doing as many jumps as possible during the 45-second interval.

Part 2

Designing Your Routine

1

Plan your warm-up. Plyometrics are high-intensity exercises, so a 5 to 10 minute warm-up is essential to help prepare your muscles and reduce the risk of injury. Your warm-up should mimic the exercises you'll be doing during your plyometric workout.[8]

For example, if your workout includes squat jumps, include squats in your warm-up to get your body used to the proper form and technique and get blood flowing to the muscles you'll be using.

Include a cardiovascular element, such as jumping jacks or running in place, as well as dynamic stretches that will prep your muscles for the workout. Jogging adds general mobility and prepare your joints.

2

Set up your circuit. Most plyometrics workouts are a series of exercises performed in a circuit. Arrange the movements you've chosen so that different body parts are being trained. If you put two exercises that work the same muscle group back-to-back, the consecutive fatigue will damage your form, decrease your level of performance, and increase your risk of injury.[9]

You should work with a certified trainer to build a circuit that will best meet your goals while remaining within your skill level.

Generally, arrange your circuits according to contacts. Each contact with the ground is additional stress and impact on your joints and your entire musculoskeletal system.

Decide on the number of sets to do based on the number of contacts. Beginners should have no more than 40 contacts per session, which typically equates to about a 10-minute plyometric workout. Experienced athletes, such as professional football players, may build plyometric workouts with as many as 200 contacts per session.

Keep in mind that you're focusing on the quality of your movements and doing them with speed. A plyometrics workout is not intended to be an endurance exercise, so your circuits likely will be very brief.

3

Do cluster sets. Particularly if you're doing plyometrics exercises, cluster sets can improve your performance. Cluster sets involve doing a larger number of sets with fewer repetitions – typically between three and five – in each set.[10]

Cluster sets may benefit you if you have a specific goal, such as increasing your vertical jump height. Fewer repetitions means you can reach and maintain your maximum, whereas with more repetitions your maximum height would decrease due to muscle fatigue.

If you're doing cluster sets, you'll want to allow a longer rest period between sets, unless you're also doing supersets in which you follow an upper-body exercise immediately with a lower-body exercise.

4

Follow each session with a cool down. The shock of a plyometrics workout demands a five to ten minute cool-down to help your body readjust. Include cardiovascular cool-down as well as stretching within your normal range of movement.[11]

Static stretches are more appropriate for cool-down than for warm-up, as they help your muscles relax.

An effective cool-down can help prevent lactic acid build-up and reduce the risk of muscle strain or injury, as well as allowing your heart rate to return to its normal resting rate.

Part 3

Conditioning for Plyometrics

1

Consult your doctor. Plyometrics are advanced exercises commonly used by professional athletes interested in taking their power and speed to the next level. If you don't have an extensive sports and strength-training background, you risk serious injury.[12]

When you add plyometrics to your exercise regimen, you are drastically increasing the intensity of your workouts.

Plyometrics workouts can put intense stress on your joints, particularly your knees or ankles – especially if you don't have significant strength in the muscles and tendons surrounding those joints to absorb the shock. An orthopedic screening will ensure your body structure and posture are strong enough to do plyometrics.

You also may want to have a physical therapist evaluate you before you start a plyometrics workout, particularly if you have joint weakness or have previously had an injury to your knees or ankles.

Keep in mind that if you're not ready to do a full plyometrics workout, you still can integrate occasional plyometrics exercises into your regular workout routine for variety.

2

Identify your goals. While plyometrics can help you increase your coordination and agility as well as build your reactive strength, these aren't really general conditioning or strength-training exercises. Typically plyometrics are added to a workout program for a specific reason, such as to improve performance in a particular sport.[13]

For example, if you're a member of a community basketball team and want to increase your vertical jump height, you can design a plyometrics workout that focuses primarily on exercises that will increase your upward explosive power.

If you want to improve your performance in a particular sport, choose movements in your plyometrics workout that closely mimic the same movements you make while playing that sport.

For example, if you're a baseball player and want more explosive throwing power, you want to focus on upper-body plyometrics. However, tennis players may use plyometrics exercises to improve their ability to move side to side and make quick changes of direction.

3

Work with a certified trainer. While you may be able to find simple plyometrics workouts to do online, the best plyometrics workout will be individually tailored to your skill level and fitness goals. A certified trainer with experience in plyometrics can help you achieve this.[14]

If you're already a member of a gym, find out which trainers working there have experience in plyometrics and would be willing to work with you.

Be prepared to explain your goals and describe your overall fitness level so the trainer can recommend movements that match your strength and skill.

The trainer may want to give you a reactive strength test, which will measure your current reactive strength so the trainer can help you design a program that will increase it.

4

Spend several months in strength training. The creator of plyometrics recommends that anyone beginning this regimen should be able to squat at least 1.5 times their bodyweight. While there are lighter workouts without these requirements, strong muscles are essential to absorb the shock of jumps and cushion your joints.[15]

Focus your strength-training on your core and your lower body, as your knees and ankles will get most of the impact from any jumping exercises.

Even though plyometrics is not an endurance exercise, you still need general endurance. In just a few minutes, you'll be pushing muscle groups repeatedly into fatigue. Cardiovascular endurance is essential to avoid over-stressing your body.

Community Q&A

Warnings

Don't attempt to do plyometrics workouts every day, or even every other day. Because of the stress and shock of this method of training, you should limit your plyometrics sessions to once or twice a week, with at least two or three days in between sessions.[16]

Make sure you're wearing athletic shoes that are well-cushioned, and complete your plyometrics workout on a more resilient surface with some cushioning, rather than on a concrete floor.